Across the six Triangle Forts facing Ladan Castle, twelve three-pounder falcon cannons and six six-pounder sand eagle cannons alternately roared.

The heavy, solid iron balls whistled through the air, landing on the sturdy grassland, sometimes skipping like a stone skimming water or merely kicking up a spray of dirt.

"Keep going!"

"Didn't you eat? Fill the dirt quickly."

The knights cowered behind the shield carts, wielding whips, and loudly commanded the soldiers and peasant soldiers to fill the pits and ditches on the ground or set up wooden planks.

Every time an iron ball hit the ground, it sent a slight tremor through their feet, and the soldiers and peasant soldiers flinched reflexively.

On the north side of Ladan Castle, in front of the densely packed fortifications, at least a hundred shield carts were advancing slowly.

On the morning of June 2nd, three knight commanders each drew the short straw and began the siege with their troops.

In the siege forces were over four hundred archers assigned to cover, over a thousand armored soldiers responsible for close combat and directing peasant soldiers.

In addition, there were 498 Extraordinary Knights and 33 Imperial Knights.

However, even the strongest knights at this moment could only wear heavy armor, hold their iron shields, and carefully follow behind the shield carts.

Behind each shield cart, there followed four or five knights and about a dozen soldiers.

These shield carts were obtained from the Shattered Stone Nobles, and local military engineers had made some modifications.

They replaced wooden planks with grass mats wrapped in dirt behind the oxhide, hoping to solve the problem of cannonballs breaking through the oxhide and avoiding splinters from piercing.

Unfortunately, these improved shield carts were either too heavy and moved extremely slowly, or they didn't achieve much effect.

They offered substantial defense against holy guns, could stop stray bullets, but their protection against spring cannons was almost non-existent.

Knight Commander Cosme bent down, crouching behind the shield cart, he had just witnessed—

A massive iron ball broke through the oxhide shield, first sending the heads of the leading two knights flying, then the neck of the third knight.

Subsequently, it pierced through the chest, belly, thighs, and calves of four peasant soldiers in sequence.

But it wasn't over yet, as it landed on a solid rocky surface, it ricocheted again at an angle.

The cannonball went through the knee of the first soldier, the abdomen of the second, the stomachs of the third and fourth, and finally shattered the calf of the fifth soldier before rolling to the ground.

The iron ball rolled on the ground, seeming to slow down, and a soldier attempted to stop it with his foot.

Before Cosme could shout "Don't," the ball crushed the soldier's calf, exposing white bone and spraying blood.

"Knight Commander!" Cosme had not yet retracted his gaze when a guard next to him tackled him to the ground.

All they heard was a "whoosh," as dirt from the grass mats fell with a rustling sound.

A massive iron ball broke through the oxhide shield, crushing the farmer soldier's head straight into the chest cavity.

Such a gruesome and terrifying scene made even the knights, accustomed to border killings, feel an inexplicable fear.

During close combat, at least there's an enemy, but now, they hadn't even seen the face of a Thousand River Valley person.

As for the peasant soldiers and soldiers, there was no need to mention— they were already trembling and ready to flee.

"Upper Divine Technique!" Cosme decisively shouted the command.

Monks trembling in the rear cast it several times before finally enveloping the soldiers with divine techniques to boost morale and dull pain.

"Continue advancing!"

...

As the sun set in the west, the Border Knight Order finally withdrew to camp after a full day of fierce assault.

However, the knight commanders of the afternoon attack were not the same as the morning— they had drawn new lots at noon.

In the first wave of the morning, the spring cannon firing was at its peak, causing casualties far beyond expectations.

In just the morning, they lost nearly three hundred soldiers and knights, not counting the casualties among the peasant soldiers.

The afternoon was slightly better, but they still lost over two hundred soldiers and knights.

As for the results, they barely managed to dig and fill a path in front of the first line of defense, stubbornly enabling shield carts to advance steadily.

At dusk, a crow perched atop the main tent of the Border Knight Order, cleaning its feathers with its beak tucked under its wing.

But the knight commanders trickling in from outside lacked the vigor to shoot this ill-omened creature down.

Inside the tent, eight knight commanders and the three big heads gathered once again.

"We're going to have to dig trenches; if they dig, we dig too, at least we won't be battered by the artillery as badly." One knight commander with a sling on his arm slammed the table in protest.

"You just laid down an assault route and now want to dig?"

"What else can we do if we don't dig? Get shelled for nothing? Lost five hundred on the first day, five hundred on the second day... With twenty thousand men, we might last a month."

"We're losing men, but do you think the Thousand River Valley Army in Ladan Castle isn't? Don't joke around, wait till the close combat, then it'll be our turn to shine."

"Is there enough time? Based on today's pace of attack, is a month sufficient?" The Grand Master asked, and the Knight Commanders fell silent.

If it were in our home region of the Kush Grassland, we would have a logistical advantage, and fighting on our turf, another two months wouldn't pose a problem.

But here…

After the first day's casualties, many Knight Commanders came to their senses.

Stripped of the halo of the Pope's crown, their actions were essentially self-provisioning to help King Jiji fight a war without pay.

They were even sent to the Shattered Stone Plain, which had just been hit by floods, and couldn't even reap much from the spoils of war!

The Knight Commanders kept their heads down or murmured to their followers and servants, seemingly calculating their personal losses.

When compared to honor and status, they still felt status held more advantage.

Emmerick could sharply sense the changing winds.

At this rate, within three days at most, these Knight Commanders would cry out to retreat.

Two to three thousand casualties, though painful, were still within an acceptable range, and could at least offer some explanation to the Pope.

He didn't even plan to return to Hotam County; using the excuse of heavy losses and the need to guard against Royal Court invasions, he would just head back to the Kush Grassland instead.

Just as Emmerick was about to speak up and add fuel to the fire, a commotion erupted outside.

"Why is it so noisy?"

"Lord Emmerick, the knights we had captured by the Holy Alliance have returned. It seems our brothers are giving them a warm welcome home."

Emmerick suddenly realized that at noon, an envoy from the other side had come with an offer to exchange prisoners.

After some bargaining, Wacław traded 160 Thousand River Valley prisoners for 89 captured knights.

But why did the noise wafting into the tent sound more like cursing than cheering?

Would they really cheat over a prisoner exchange?

Emmerick's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

Ignoring the half-concluded meeting, he mounted a swift horse and galloped toward the camp gate.

The closer he got, the more he could hear the raging roars and clamor.

"Damn them, how dare they treat noble and great Holy Knights this way!"

"Demon monk, I curse you!"

"Breaching Ladan Castle and massacring the town, make them pay for their actions."

As he rounded the corner made of tents, he finally saw what lay ahead.

Led by Istentock, nearly a hundred knights rode on gentle ponies, led forward by several released prisoners.

They had drunk a potion of intoxication, dull-wittedly clutching the reins.

In normal circumstances, the knights should have rushed ahead to rescue their brothers, but now no one moved.

They didn't know how to approach these brothers of old.

Eighty-nine knights, eighty-nine hairy-chested sturdy men, dressed in various skirts and nun's habits.

Some exposed a half-bare bosom, others had open backs, and of course, there were the purest black-and-white nun outfits.

Two burly hairy legs were exposed, wearing semi-transparent stockings woven with spider silk and silk.

Greasy, messy hair was styled into pigtails, single ponytails, and braids, even adorned with cute little pearl accessories.

The border knights who had taken the intoxication potion bore flushed faces, hazy eyes, and smiles even touched the corners of their mouths.

Don't talk about personal humiliation or prisoner respect; Horn wouldn't stoop to such levels with the Border Knights.

These Border Knights had deliberately allowed Centaurs to slaughter civilians—the fact they weren't hanged was mercy enough; they did not deserve respect.

Looking at those armored soldiers in women's clothes, too ashamed to lift their heads, the Grand Master's face turned ashen.

Because more and more Border Knights were gathering, and this incident would undoubtedly spread like wildfire.

A Knight's honor is a weapon for the Border Knight Order to unify as a national entity, but at this moment, it also wounds itself.

Because unless there were massive casualties, these Border Knights would never retreat amidst the knights' indignant fury.

The essence of Border Knights is "noble citizen soldiers," and the Knight Order is constructed on the foundation of military democracy.

This "public opinion" would undoubtedly influence ranks upon ranks of officers, and these officers just happen to have voting rights.

It's likely my plans will fall apart, and the Border Knights will have no choice but to continue the offensive.

All because of a few dresses? All because of a few dresses! All because of a few dresses...

Since the start of the war, for the first time, the Grand Master felt an indescribable sense of powerlessness.